Wine, Women & Song

∆∆∆ BP ∆∆∆

noreply@blogger.com (mr.A) — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 16:01:00 +0000

This is an exclusive Record Store Day 2013 release and will be available to purchase from us after 20th April 2013 (If stocks allow).

Bardo Pond return with a special release for Record Store Day in the form of a limited edition 12" featuring their explosive interpretations of Funkadelic's "Maggot Brain" and Pharoah Sanders' "The Creator Has a Master Plan". With "Maggot Brain" running to over 21 minutes and "Creator..." at fifteen minutes, these are epic performance pieces, taking the listener through a range of emotions as the band explore their innermost creativity.

As Michael Gibbons from Bardo Pond explains:

"These tracks represent the apex of sublimity for us. They are archetypes for our way of making music. They both offer the listener a mainline to an emotional epiphany that can only be experienced through listening to these very songs. Through seemingly minimal means, gut wrenching tones and glorious repetition, a gateway opens, endorphins are released, illumination is attained. We stand in the light emanating from these Pyramids of Sound. We humbly rolled them up in the Lemur House as a form of pilgrimage. Please partake. Thanks."

Loosely formed in 1989 by guitar wielding art student siblings, Michael and John Gibbons, Bardo Pond became a reality in 1991 with the addition of vocalist and flautist, Isobel Sollenberger, bassist, Clint Takeda and drummer, Joe Culver (replaced in 1999 by trainee librarian, Ed Farnsworth). Bardo Pond are the flagship band of Philly's "Psychedelphia" space rock movement, which also included the likes of Aspera, Asteroid No. 4, the Azusa Plane, and tangentially the Lilys. They favour lengthy, deliberate sound explorations filled with all the hallmarks of modern-day space rock: droning guitars, thick distortion, feedback, reverb, and washes of white noise.
From; Fire Records

Links; Bardo Pond - Rise Above It All Above Google will Help You! Bardo Pond Bardo Pond @ MySpace Fire Records

•••• go wild and freak out ••••

noreply@blogger.com (mr.A) — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 11:36:00 +0000

When I die, I want people to play my music, go wild and freak out and do anything they want to do. [Jimi Hendrix]

# 3 LEAFS - Time Shifts #

noreply@blogger.com (mr.A) — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 16:57:00 +0000

Latest from this SF improv psychedelic space rock collective, 3 LEAFS - Time Shifts. 3 massive delightfully druggy and dreamy, and spacey tunes. A digital only album on their Bandcamp site, go get it people it's another asskicking bunch of songs to trip away.... [mr.A]

Time Shifts (2013) by 3 Leafs

Links; 3 LEAFS - Time Shifts 3 LEAFS 3 LEAFS @ MySpace 3 LEAFS @ Soundcloud

˚˚˚ Hollie Chastain ˚˚˚

noreply@blogger.com (mr.A) — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 10:38:00 +0000

Hollie Chastain is an artist living and working in Chattanooga, Tennessee. After working with various media at an early age she fell in love with collage. As well as various publications you can see her work in galleries and art boutiques both in the US and abroad. From; Hollie Chastain

Links; Hollie Chastain Hollie Chastain @ FaceSpace

...April 4, 2013 285 Kent

noreply@blogger.com (mr.A) — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 10:16:00 +0000

I always liked the tunes of Purling Hiss, and i think they sound even beter when heared live. So, look what i found at NYTaper... [mr.A]

When we broke the news back in November that Purling Hiss had signed to Drag City Records and that their new album would be released in March, it was one of those well-deserved jumps in stature that we love to see for the bands that we’ve championed here on NYCTaper. Now that their new album Water On Mars has been released to universally positive reviews, its also good to see that the band are still the same humble guys we met for the first time several years ago. At 285 on Thursday, the merch table was moved to the DJ table where we record the shows, and so we were by default the band’s unofficial merch guy when they were on stage. But afterwards while breaking down my equipment, it was refreshing to see up close Mike Polizze’s natural and sincere interactions with the long line of fans waiting to buy the album. In these days when the quality of fan relationships are almost as crucial to a band’s success as the quality of the music, its good to know that Purling Hiss is ahead of the game in both respects. The band’s set was almost entirely Mars material played with ferocity and among the many highlights, we’re streaming “Don’t Even Try It”. Purling Hiss will continue to tour the midwest for the next couple of weeks before spending May in Europe. The tour dates are on their Drag City Records artist page.

I recorded this set with the wide diaphragm Neumann TLM 102 microphones mounted on the pole 10 feet from the stage and mixed with a vocal-heavy board feed. The sound quality is excellent, enjoy!
From; nyctaper

Download the Complete show;

Purling Hiss: April 4, 2013 285 Kent

Links; Purling Hiss Purling Hiss @ MySpace Purling Hiss @ Bandcamp

≤ So Fucking Beautiful ≥

noreply@blogger.com (mr.A) — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 10:22:00 +0000

Krautrock, experimental, stoner, psychedelic rock inspired Evel Gazebow got a new record out S.F. Beautiful, and so fucking beautiful it is. And after a few songs the smile on my face is still there, yes people this psychedelica makes me happy. Go listen and dance, nod your head may also work! [mr.A]

Links; Evel Gazebow Evel Gazebow @ MySpace Evel Gazebow @ Soundcloud

∆ Coltsblood ∆

noreply@blogger.com (mr.A) — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 16:46:00 +0000

Found this band 'Coltsblood' a couple of days ago on the mighty Facebook. Someone in Conan called the bassist (who was in Conan) a co-author of one of the songs on Horseback Battle Hammer. Do not know which song and it doesn't matter, I was curious and very pleasantly surprised when I heard the music of ColtsBlood... there is some raw power going on overthere, check it out yourself!!!! [mr.A]

Links; Coltsblood Coltsblood @ FaceSpace

COLTSBLOOD. Featuring John McNulty (wrote the original version of Beheaded whilst in HORN with Jon) and recorded Horseback Battle Hammer with us (provided vocals some of Krull and all of Dying Giant and bass on all 4 tracks). from; Conan Facebook

▲ Bardo New ▲

noreply@blogger.com (mr.A) — Sat, 06 Apr 2013 09:58:00 +0000

Some great news from the Bardo Pond camp yesterday, specialy for those of you who collect vinyl. I thought this was the good news "The band aim to release a new record in the latter stages of 2013".

It’s been three years since Philadelphia’s psych surgeons Bardo Pond gave us something new – not that we need anything new necessarily, because their back catalogue is pretty exemplary. I’ve always thought the five-piece has been one of the most underrated bands of its ilk in the past decade. Fire Records can only bolster that claim, by lovingly reissuing 2006’s Ticket Crystals in a LP-only edition. Double vinyl and adorned with Joy Feasley’s new artwork, the album typifies the calculated yet fluid doom template that unrelentingly drives their sound, yet also showcased the pastel undercarriage that lightens the load enough for it to become immensely immersive rather than bludgeoning.

I realise this is a Sunday, but seeing as this is a stellar reissue I thought I’d give a special edition of “Friday Cover Up” to include the cover of the Beatles’ ‘Cry Baby Cry.’ Originally recorded for and broadcast by the BBC as part of their commemorations of the 25th anniversary of John Lennon’s death, it exemplifies the whole point I crafted the Cover Up segment in the first place. Taking great music and imbuing it with their own personality to craft a unique vision, this is Lennon in an iron lung filled with cryogenic fluid and absinthe.

And here is another Ticket Crystals classic…

Pre-order Ticket Crystals here. The band aim to release a new record in the latter stages of 2013, whilst also planning to release an exclusive 12” covers record for Record Store Day, so we haven’t heard the last of this stellar band. From; Fire Records
Links; Bardo Pond Bardo Pond @ MySpace Fire Records

.....White Hills / Earthless 10″

noreply@blogger.com (mr.A) — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 14:53:00 +0000

Found this today on the Scion A/V site, a free download of the White Hills / Earthless 10″. I'll say go get it, and have fun with it!
Scion A/V, the creative enterprise of Scion devoted to the discovery, nurture, funding and distribution of compelling music and arts programming today releases a special two track, 20 minute EP featuring the heavy sounds of San Diego cosmonauts EARTHLESS and Brooklyn astral rockers WHITE HILLS. Recorded in November, 2012 at the world famous Roxy in Hollywood as part of the Scion-presented Roadburn Records label showcase, the free EP features EARTHLESS performing the stargazing track “Red” and WHITE HILLS delivering the boundless cut “Under Skin or by Name.” The EP is available as a free download now at ScionAV.com. “Roadburn is a tastemaker rock festival that is well respected internationally,” ‪comments Jeri Yoshizu, manager of sales promotion for Scion. “We love what they do and wanted to be the first to bring Roadburn to the U.S.”‬

EARTHLESS was formed in 1991 by Mario Rubalcaba, Isaiah Mitchell and Mike Eginton with the desire to create music incorporating a wide array of influences ranging from diverse bands (from Flower Travelin’ Band, Jimi Hendrix and Hawkwind to The Birthday Party, Can and Rory Gallagher, to name a few) re-imagined and born to stand on its own. Described by Rubalcaba as a “heavy, loud, sonic mind melt,” the music of EARTHLESS features epic instrumental passages that have solidified the California trio as one of the must-see heavy psych rock bands on the planet today.

WHITE HILLS is guitarist Dave W., bassist Ego Sensation and drummer Nick Name. The New York group twists beauteous, brain-tenderizing riffs into tight spirals of sound that succeed through sheer momentum. Paying just as close attention to the quiet moments as the raging ones, WHITE HILLS’ songs are a push-pull between churning and floating, abandon and control. The end result is invigorating deep space rock that’s built to be performed (and experienced) live.

Track listing:
1.) EARTHLESS “Red” (12:31)
 2.) WHITE HILLS “Under Skin or by Name” (7:38)
From; Roadburn Records

Links; Scion A/V White Hills Earthless

Ommadon

noreply@blogger.com (mr.A) — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 17:57:00 +0000

Ommadon for those of you who like their tunes super heavy. And as they say themselfs, "We record raw, heavy doom by ourselves in the forest in the highlands of Scotland - all live, no overdubs, no bullshit."

So if you think you might like this, you can now grap their III and IV albums for free from their Bandcamp page. I'll say go get it and play it loud as fuck!!!!
Links; Ommadon - III Ommadon - IV Ommadon @ FaceSpace Ommadon's Blog

.....laugh/dance....

noreply@blogger.com (mr.A) — Sat, 22 Sep 2012 07:24:00 +0000

And we should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once. And we should call every truth false which was not accompanied by at least one laugh.
Friedrich Nietzsche

...the Kings are back!!!

noreply@blogger.com (mr.A) — Sat, 22 Sep 2012 07:20:00 +0000

Over four years since All (2008) and two years since recording started, it’s hard to believe that She Said, the new album by stoner/heavy psych masters Colour Haze is here! It’s been a long, gnarly road for the band to get to its completion. Original plans was for a February 2011 release, until a January press release revealed that there were defects in the recordings and they would have to re-record most of the album. When I wrote the Colour Haze: Kings of Stoner/Psych Rock Mountain piece in March, I had high hopes the album would be out by summer! A September 2011 release date came and went, and Stefan Koglek’s update discussed issues with the mixing board, part of their newly built home studio.

Sweet anticipation starts to become something else.At that point, us hardcore Colour Haze fans just had to take a breath and realize it’ll come when it comes. Meanwhile, as lot has happened in the heavy psych/stoner scene since 2008. After nine increasingly brilliant studio albums, the band’s influence became truly entrenched. While no one could really duplicate Colour Haze’s tones, you could hear their influence in Sungrazer, Causa Sui, The Machine, My Sleeping Karma, Hypnos 69, Arenna, and many more. They are all great bands that I listen to often, but Colour Haze remains by far my favorite because their music is so incredibly rich, despite normally sticking to a simple mix of guitar, bass, drums and occasional vocals. Every listening session feels like a journey, evoking geography such as deserts, mountains, oceans, whether imaginary or from experience and memory with all its inherent emotional triggers. Unlike some bullshit psychedelia that would sound empty without the enhancement of substances, Colour Haze’s music can plant the imagery in your brain using nothing but sound. To me, that’s truly psychedelic. And at their best, the songs have as much emotional impact as the melancholy music of Australian band The Dirty Three when they were at their peak in the mid-90s.

Some would say Colour Haze peaked with Los Sounds de Krauts (2003), a game-changing double album. She Said is also a double album, and makes a strong case that the band is still on top of their game, or are even better than ever. The beauty of most of their albums reflect some sort of evolution, even if it isn’t drastic, and offers a unique flavor each time. There will always people who are fans of particular albums (my favorite was All, and it will take more time to determine if She Said replaces that). I can’t imagine a fan not liking this album unless they haven’t liked anything by the band since 1999. While All dabbled with some subtle psychedelic production and even pop structures, the new one kicks off with the sprawling title track featuring piano playing by Christian Hawellek. Keyboards aren’t a completely new thing for Colour Haze, as Hawellek has contributed at least some Fender rhodes on all the albums since the self-titled Colour Haze (2005). However the string and horn arrangements are new. This is not to say that they’ve gone orchestral pop. Those elements, which also include some congas on the first track, are used sparingly but effectively, enhancing key moments on just a few tracks, like the horns making the crescendo on “Transformation” all that much more magnificent. At 18:48 and 16:53, “She Said” and “Transformation” are the band’s third and sixth longest songs in their entire catalog. You may have favorite songs where you wish the guitars would keep going a lot longer, like Television’s “Marquee Moon.” I used to be a pretty vocal opponent to jamming, but I’ll be damned if I’ve ever been bored by any of Stefan Koglek’s guitar solos.

The second disc (or side 3 for the vinyl people) starts with the just absofuckingstunning “Breathe.” With backing vocal assistance from Mario Knapp, who like Christian Hawellek has done some film soundtrack work, it achieves a gorgeous cinematic majesty, transitioning from vocal harmonies into a strumming wall of sound, a departure from Koglek’s typical riffing to an effect more akin to Godspeed You Black Emperor. After six listens, it may be my favorite song on the album right now, but could change after another half dozen rounds. “Slowdown” is a fast, nearly punky four minute number that hearkens back to earlier records, with the vocals appropriately roughed up. “Stand In…” is another standout, starting with some gentle, chiming guitar tones and jazzy picking and escalates into blissfully fuzzed out stormclouds. I spent a good amount of time over the years listening to solo Tom Verlaine albums and his imitators searching for this kind of ecstatic guitar playing. I have no doubt many who discover Colour Haze for the first time with this album will be flabbergasted that they’ve been missing out the past 14 years. Better late than never. The band clearly thought the song was special enough to merit some strings during its second climax.
After the more typical sounding, but still satisfying “Rise,” the epic double album closes in brilliant fashion with “Grace.” Starting with some acoustic guitars and a gorgeous string arrangement, some psychedelic backwards guitars are layered in as the song begins to resemble a snaking moebius strip. Just after the seven minute mark it reaches the thermosphere where it gracefully floats amidst the auroras before descending down to the mesosphere and turns into a glowing meteor. Wow. I don’t usually feel it’s necessary to give a rundown on nearly every song, but on my last listen on headphones, I just got lost in it and kept on writing. She Said certainly merits it, being not just the best album of the week, but very likely of the year.
From; Fast 'n' Bulbous
Links; Colour Haze - She Said Password (if needed); wws [Link dies 6/10/12] Colour Haze Colour Haze @ Last.FM BUY!!!!

....Afflicted Man

noreply@blogger.com (mr.A) — Sun, 09 Sep 2012 06:48:00 +0000

Too freaked out for punks and too punked out for freaks, STEVE HALL stalked the nascent British Punk/DIY scene under the guise of AFFLICTED (later AFFLICTED MAN) throughout the early '80s to the interest of almost no one. Hiding in plain sight, Hall unleashed a string of 7-inches and LPs that evoked a singular and unique take on the punk sneer made fashionable by the Sex Pistols and their minion. Primitively blending elements of psychedelia and dub over his feral, chainsaw approach, Afflicted Man unleashed a miasma of tripped out, fuzzy aggro thrashers that would eventually climax into a masterpiece of pedal stomping carnage-the unimpeachable Get Stoned Ezy LP-the likes of which are only now being fully digested. Easily one of the UK's strangest and ignored DIY punk bands. This collection includes the entire output; all three mega rare 7-inches plus the hard to find LPs The Afflicted Man's Musical Bag, I'm Off Me Head, and the aforementioned Get Stoned Ezy. Complete Recordings is the type of release to make even the most knowledgeable of humbugs sit up and take notice. Essential in every way. From; ClearSpot

Links; AFFLICTED MAN - COMPLETE RECORDINGS Password (if needed); wws [Link dies 22/9/2012 Afflicted Man (some info on Steve Hall) BUY!!!

...sleaze at its best...

noreply@blogger.com (mr.A) — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 08:58:00 +0000

Summertime is the seasonal metaphor for change, the days are longer, the sun is shinning and there is a sense of renewed energy in the air as the ambiance of the days change from dark and dreary to warm and shimmering. Brooklyn based The Vandelles (Facebook/Twitter) have taken this to heart and are a band that has turned this analogy into a reality. Since releasing their début album Del Black Aloha and their Summer Fling EP to positive admiration last year the band has since altered in-between touring and recording new material. Now that the season is once again changing it is time to put ideas into practice as The Vandelles return with a new album, new sound and now a new line up as bassist and vocalist Lulu and Christo have disbanded onto other solo projects. The new line up has subsequently resulted in a new change of direction for The Vandelles and although they have stayed true to the creative concept, influence and quality of the bands first album, their sophomore Strange Girls Don’t Cry has inched towards a more in your face, shock and shake sound.
Their surf and turf garage rock and roll takes its influence from bands across the decades, including The Ramones, The Beach Boys. The Jesus and Mary Chain and The Raveonettes. They’re a fine mix of punk rock and roll, California sun drenched surf and a pinch of 90s brooding shoe gaze. Their music is fuzzy, scuzzy and reverb heavy, all the elements needed to make a great garage rock band and an awesome second album.

What’s distinctive about this record is that all tracks where recorded live together as a whole band rather then each instrumental section laid down separately, the tracks where then later overdubbed in the studio foregoing any form of editing or patching over. This unique way of recording has insured that the band could capture the primitive sound of their live performances and raw appeal.

You can hear what I mean on the albums lead off track I’m Way Ahead Of You as it blurs into guitar knots and menacing baselines. Its primal doses of noise and thumping percussion build up into a taut of dark matter. Good Boys Don’t Lie and Way Trough You take the edge of slightly and introduce a softer and whimsical synthesised rockabilly side to the album. With crashes of percussion, cooing vocals and jamboree swing they fuse together Psychocandy with psycholbilly. The albums title track Strange Girls Don’t Cry is a punk pop tune of raging heavy beats, rattling shakes of tambourine and humming edgy vocals while Nocturnal and All Aloah layers in all the elements of sonic guitar dread, icy vocals and a sinister psychedelic surf wave rift that would make the sea part rather then let you surf its waves.

The band sound more confident and impulsive with their sound and although there is still a wall of distortion clouding around the reverb on this album they don’t hide behind the formulaic narrative and metaphorical sound of the sun, sea and surf genre. Rather this album tones down the surf pop flavour of Del Black Aloha in favour of moody synth shoe gaze and drone still sparing with their surf noir roots and rocking a decent Dick Dale bass line the band are experiment more with different sound concepts and genres, gambling with a heavier darker mood. One listen to the distorted guitar and doom and gloom drone of Into the City sets the tone of the albums shaded dynamics.

Lead singer Jason Schwartz vocals are pushed to the limit, resonant and pain ridden they leave you with cold shivers tingling down your spine. The albums glistening up surging tempo and nipping bites of distortion feedback is straight up rock and roll and 60s garage sleaze at its best.

The band have been teasing audiences over the last few months with free downloads and previews of the album but finally fans can now download the album in full from the bands Bandcamp page. From; The Blue Walrus

Links; The Vandelles - Strange Girls Don’t Cry Password (if needed); wws [Link dies 20/9/12] The Vandelles The Vandelles @ Facebook BUY!!!

...the way the waves take big bites of the beach at night.

noreply@blogger.com (mr.A) — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 14:32:00 +0000

Allah Las met while working at the biggest of all the L.A. Record stores, but they became a band in an even more rare and special space—a California basement, dug out somewhere between the mountains and the beach. They began gigging shortly after their inception in and around Los Angeles in the later part of 2008. It wasn’t until three years later that they would find the proper environment to record their first single “Catamaran” / “Long Journey” which now bookends their upcoming self-titled release. These are the kind of songs that bounce between London and Los Angeles, the kind of thing that could have come from Mick Jagger or Arthur Lee or both at once, with crystalline guitar and slow-mo drums that recalled the way the waves take big bites of the beach at night. This is mystery music from the strange and ancient-modern California fringe, more Night Tide than Easy Rider. Allah Las are a reflection of a reflection, an echo of an echo, a band that is psychedelic not because of reverb or shredding through pedals but for the simple way their songs seem to extend to infinity. From; Innovative Leisure

Links; Allah-Las - Allah-Las Password (if needed); wws [Link dies 19/9/2012] Allah-Las@ FaceSpace Allah-Las BUY!!!

...Fine Flow..

noreply@blogger.com (mr.A) — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 14:26:00 +0000

As The Entrance Band approaches a decade of creative activity, its three musicians swiftly and freely charge forward like a carved, finely etched stream… a “Fine Flow,” if you will. Their most recent release showcases the well-rehearsed trio in their finest and most diverse form yet on four instrumental tracks clocking in at 34 minutes. Together, Paz Lenchantin, Derek James and Guy Blakeslee put forth a thousand points of light that leave the listener blinded in burning bliss. Commander (and producer) Farmer Dave Scher steers The Entrance Band ship on their latest expedition in a career that never rests on the waves of popular culture. The trio maps its own stargazing charts, and these four songs serve as a hitchhikers guide to their unexplored but still familiar universe. Each track on Fine Flow is a journey, ranging from the controlled urgency of the title track to the meandering exploration of “Summertime,” with its layers of guitar that seem to stop time in a steam of pure but subtle heat. “In the Key of Sea” floats until the wave that carries it crests and breaks; “Hands in the Shape of a Wave” introduces a deft, measured saxophone to illicit its watery and glistering tone. Together these four sublime tracks are the soundtrack of both escape and possibility. The Entrance Band is not interested in repetition. They revel in discovery, and this limited-edition Spiritual Pajamas 12-inch will leave you surfing “The Key of Sea” for many, many waves to come. From; Midheaven

Links; The Entrance Band - Fine Flow Password (if needed); wws [Link dies 19/9/2012] The Entrance Band The Entrance BandThe Entrance Band @ MySpace BUY!!!!

Help Follakzoid cross the pond!

noreply@blogger.com (mr.A) — Mon, 03 Sep 2012 18:11:00 +0000

Contribute to Help me bring Follakzoid to the UK and Europe!!!

Dream Machine Records are trying to get them over to the UK and Europe to tour and record a live album.

Dream Machine Records helps promote independent artists and create a network of like-minded bands who can help promote and support each other throughout the world. A little history...in 2007, I went to SXSW with The Early Years. Whilst there, someone suggested I go to a party called The Dream Machine. The whole atmosphere was something that I simply haven't experienced or witnessed here in the UK. The bands I met and the music I heard was so amazing that I became determined to spread the word.

Since then, I have worked with the most amazing bands, toured the world, set up a label and put on shows for artists such as : MIRANDA LEE RICHARDS / SAD DAY FOR PUPPETS / DARKER MY LOVE / THE TELEVISION PERSONALITIES / JE SUIS ANIMAL / PEGGY SUE / THE ASTEROID #4 / THE QUARTER AFTER / THREE TRAPPED TIGERS / MUGSTAR / CYLOB / THE CUSH / THE TELESCOPES / ONE UNIQUE SIGNAL / THE KOOLAID ELECTRIC COMPANY / EAT LIGHTS BECOME LIGHTS / THE TAMBORINES / THE HALL OF MIRRORS / ALEX MONK / THE LIGHTSHINES / DIE MUNCH MACHINE / VERONICA FALLS / BO NINGEN / SAXON SHORE / DAMO SUZUKI / CLINIC

Dream Machine shows are run by enthusiasts who wish to keep something independent alive. A place for bands to play and people to listen and talk about music and ideas. We provide opportunities for independent artists, musicians and groups to have their own space to promote their work, be listened to and for us all to have somewhere we can share the music we love.

Links; Contribute FÖLLAKZOID FÖLLAKZOID @ MySpace Dream Machine Records

.....Madeline Adams

noreply@blogger.com (mr.A) — Sat, 01 Sep 2012 07:35:00 +0000

In the natural world, I am drawn to moments of repetition: a grid of windows on a building or the shadows made from leaves on a tree, the line made by traffic lights down a dark road, the groupings of pastries in a bakery window, the whispers of conversations in a crowded room, or the bass drum in a symphony. The objects being observed become the focal point of the frenetic world surrounding it. My work attempts to address these dialogues and spaces between the relationships and the idiosyncrasies of individual details.

Using transparencies, opacities, color and layering, details are either blurred or pronounced, intentionally concealing or explicitly revealing unsuspected moments; an idea of having noticed something that you’re not supposed to or not noticing something that is blatantly obvious. The specificity within my paintings, drawings and prints are due to the fact that every mark is made by my own hand. Although most marks are deliberate, mistakes do occur and are gladly welcomed. A drip, a splatter, a scratch or an unexpected color grouping may end up being the jumping off point for my next piece. Once my paintings leave my studio, they are then caught up in the complex relationship of viewer to image, with the viewer bringing their visual history to the images in return. From; Madeline Adams

Links; Madeline Adams

.ASCS SLAYS....

noreply@blogger.com (mr.A) — Sat, 01 Sep 2012 07:33:00 +0000

First of all, now that's a name! To which your reaction might be, okay, this band must really be into 17th and 18th century British military history, to name themselves after a heroic naval officer who perished in a shipwreck in 1707. Or, if you're like us, you might think, hmmm, seems a bit like the moniker of Sir Lord Baltimore, the fuzzed out early '70s proto-metal greats. And that's definitely relevant to Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell's also very much fuzzed out sound, all right. Like Witchcraft, Gentlemans Pistols, and the elusive Uncle Acid and The Deadbeats, these guys are another band on Rise Above (licensed to Metal Blade in the USA), who kick out the Sabbathy jams and sound like they actually -really- belong on Rise Above Relics, that UK label's imprint for reissues of swaggering '70s heavy rock obscurities.

Yeah, the Shovell (as they like to be called, for short) deliver the goods, a ramalamajama of high energy brutal boogie with distorted to heck vocals, and noisy psych geetar explosions all over the place. 'Tis total guitar heavy, FX laden, rifftastic kickass rock n' roll. Extreme enough that while they've got one foot firmly in '70s rockarolla, they've almost got the other in, like, '90s noiserockÉ We say that 'cause sometimes the guitars break out stuff that's so sinewy and mathy, and the vocals get even more gruff and gnarly, that suddenly we start thinking the Melvins (meet Blue Cheer). It's just that they're waaay more freaked out and crazier than, y'know, mere Led Zep copyists. Much more like, The Heads, if they were all proto-metal about it. In fact, we'd say that this is definitely recommended to both fans of The Heads -and- Sir Lord Baltimore, of which we'd imagine there'd be plenty. Also if you like Danava, the aforementioned Gentlemans Pistols, Harvey Milk circa The Pleaser, Dzjenghis Khan, plus oldies like High Tide, Budgie, Toad, Dust, Buffalo, the Groundhogs (whose Tony McPhee gets in a guest guitar solo on one track here!), Captain Beyond, etc. In a word, Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell SLAY. And do so in style. Which includes, slipcase packaging. Oh, and there's a hidden bonus track, a cover of "Bean Stew" from Buffalo's Dead Forever, so stay tuned at the endÉ From; aQuarius recOrds

Links; Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell – Don’t Hear It…Fear It! Password (if needed); wws [Link dies 15/9/2012] The Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell The Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell @ MySpace BUY!!!

...riff-seekers.

noreply@blogger.com (mr.A) — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 18:27:00 +0000

The Feather Tipped the Serpent’s Scale, the new opus from Salt Lake Citys heaviest duo EAGLE TWIN picks up right where the band’s acclaimed debut LP The Unkindness of Crowsleft off. In this installment the crows documented in the first album have battled the sun and were burned back down to earth as black snakes, the concept of the album continuing mainly on the snake and its various mythic and symbolic incarnations. Ultimately the great ancestral snake is transformed from its lowly beginnings back into a bird soaring upon the thermals. Recorded with Randall Dunn London Bridge Studio, also as with the first album, the record boasts some of the most mesmerizing and monstrous riff transformations from EAGLE TWIN to date. Another must have for forward-thinking riff-seekers! From; Southern Lord

Links; Eagle Twin - The Feather Tipped The Serpent's Scale Password (if needed); wws [Link dies 12/9/2012] Eagle Twin Eagle Twin @ MySpace BUY!!!!

...α Ω α...

noreply@blogger.com (mr.A) — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 17:39:00 +0000

Founded in Portugal in 1996, Saturnia is the brainchild of multi-instrumentalist Luis Simoes. The latest Saturnia release and the fifth to date is AlphaOmegaAlpha, released on Stefan Koglek’s Elektrohasch Records label. Though Saturnia has always been Simoes’ project he wasn’t always the only musician on the albums. And after several spins of this epic set of music its startling to my non-musician, non-technical mind to realize that except for a couple spoken word contributions Simoes recorded the entirety of AlphaOmegaAlpha himself, utilizing an arsenal of guitars, sitar, tempura, bass and bass pedals, philicorda, Farfisa, Hammond, theremin, flute, vibraphone, dulcimer, and various other keyboards and synths.
Recorded between 2007-2011, the album is a sprawling 2-CD set of 15 tracks that for me is the ultimate marriage of Space Rock, Psychedelia and Prog Rock. To understand this coming together of Space Rock, Psych and Prog I’ll quote Simoes’ response to a 2004 Aural Innovations interview question about his influences:

Yes, from the old days, Pulsar, Pink Floyd, Hawkwind, the whole German scene (early Tangerine Dream, Ash Ra Tempel etc.) also the big prog names like Genesis or Yes, although to a smaller extent. I always liked these artists because of their utter free creativity, for doing cool music for its own sake. From the more contemporary influences, which are mainly electronic related, I would say Portishead, Alpha and all the English electronic scene from 1990 onwards, what got me into this was the fact that the evasion and freedom that I always loved about the old hippie bands totally disappeared from the “normal” music scene and it somehow landed on the trance/dance/electronic/trip hop etc. sub genre. Maybe due to the fact that both of these movements were strongly related to drugs. To mix these two bubbles was, for me, quite inevitable. I think it is also important not to forget that there are also other styles very influential in the Saturnia sound, I mean, Indian classical music, easy-listening music and also contemporary composers like Luigi Nono.

As tempted as I am to follow my usual style of commenting on each track there is waaaay too much happening across these 15 songs to do that. So much of the album is pure mind-music, gently carrying the listener through space on a cloud and doing so while creating intricately constructed music. I’ll touch on some of my favorites to give you a feel for what AlphaOmegaAlpha is about and the variety you can expect.

The set opens with I Am Utopia, with its driving rock beat and lulling vocals, winding, backward psychedelic guitars, acid guitar, barrage of alien electronics, and heavenly orchestral-Mellotron backdrop. Rings Of Smoke features jamming jazz piano against a heavy rock beat, full choir symphonic backing keys, roaring and somewhat threatening machine like effects, freaked out electronics, and brief spoken word narrative (words by Goethe) by Stefan Koglek. The keyboards and percussion on Clepsydra bring to mind Pink Floyd circa Wish You Were Here, but there’s a far more deep space head-music element to the music, and I love the guitar on this song which is equal parts molten lava and wasp sting. Alpha Omega is over 13 minutes of mid-70s Pink Floyd shot into cosmic floating space. The prominent Mellotron on Mikado Players & Lotus Eaters conjures up a blend of In The Court Of The Crimson King meets Space Ritual meets Wish You Were Here. I love the space-Bluesy guitar licks with UFO electronics dancing around it. Simoes’ Indian influences are apparent on Moving Mandala, with trippy jamming sitar and Indian percussion, but also a cool grooving rock beat and spaced out electronics, and the vocals remind me of a song from a 60s film that I can’t quite place. Mellifluous is a mind-melting mixture of intensity and cosmic drift, with its eerie keyboard melodies, Mellotron, liquid trip guitar, and spaced out electronics that sound like an alien swarm of bees attacking, but also with a drugged, lullaby 60s feel to the vocals. Tetrahedron is full blown 70s heavy rocking in DEEP space, with its conga-like dance grooves, heavy Hammond organ and some of the most ripping guitar on the album. And Cosmonication is a great closing track, which struck me as a mixture of early Genesis, Moody Blues and Pink Floyd, but with the Saturnia focus on putting a spaced out cosmic spin on everything.

In summary, this sucker is gonna be way high on my best of 2012 list. There’s not a weak track in the set. I just FEEL good after listening to the entire album under headphones. Simoes skillfully brings together multiple influences, creating two hours of blur bliss for Space-Psych-Prog Heads. Highest recommendation! From; Aural-Innovations
Links; Saturnia - α Ω α Password (if needed); wws [Link dies 10/9/2012] Saturnia BUY!!!

....black acid trance-out

noreply@blogger.com (mr.A) — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 11:10:00 +0000

Australian drone seismologist Oren Ambarchi has been remarkably, Pollard-ically busy in 2012, releasing five(!) albums before summer's end — including collabos with Jim O'Rouke, Keiji Haino, Stephen O'Malley and Swedish jazzers Fire! Easily the best of the bunch (hell, one of the best avant-garde releases you'll hear all year) is his upcoming Sagittarian Domain (out August 29 via eMego) , a 33-minute black acid trance-out that rides a Neu!-matic groove into haunting, ghostly pits of oblivion.

Usually known for sucking holes of pulseless drone, the now rhythmically energized Ambarchi uses a foggy half hour for his barely-there guitars to cross bubbling, boiling paths with the void-embracing gloom-pulse of Beak>, the endless boogie of Wooden Shjips, the colorful trips of Finnish kraut-rockers Siinai, and the post-metal currently washing up in Isis' wake. By the track's end, a string section takes over in a wash of ambient, Gavin Bryars-gone-goth swoon that wouldn't sound out of place on either FatCat or Profound Lore.

"I felt totally energized and inspired, as we were racing against the clock," says Ambarchi, who accidentally recorded the album in one of Australia's best studios, so was especially aware of time and budget. "The ideas were flowing and I felt extremely grateful that I could run with these ideas as soon as they came to me. When it was done I was totally exhausted and felt like the whole thing was a dream or something." Keep Reading From Spin...

Links; Oren Ambarchi - Sagittarian Domain Password (if needed); wws [Link dies 7/9/2012] Oren Ambarchi Oren Ambarchi @ WiKi BUY!!!

....Another Bicycle Ride

noreply@blogger.com (mr.A) — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 17:27:00 +0000

Like some of the other Vokokesh CD's I already have, such as Smile And Point At The Mountain (1995), Paradise Revisited (1998), The Tenth Corner (2004) and All This And Hieronymus (2007), this new 2010 release is just as out-standing plus there are several other Vokokesh CD's I'm just now finding out about that I never even knew existed. I saw noted in the liner notes that this disc was officially dedicated to the late Blue Cheer main player Dickie Peterson. Eight superb mind-sizzling 21st century space rock tunes here to take in. Tunes that I like best are Born To Lose, the well worth mentioning - the awesome Texas Asphalt Blues, the eleven-minute tripping Kesh #10 (Improvisation), the simply beautifully played Pretty Acoustic Piece - has some fine synth effects intact and this CD's finale - the acid-drenched - fifteen-minute title cut Dr. Hofmann's Bicycle Ride (nearly worth the price of admission alone). Couple of other tracks that I did take some notice on were The Highway Song and the somewhat familiar-sounding 1000 Pictures In One Word, as I'm almost sure I've heard this tune somewhere before - but I checked as best as I could and I couldn't find it anywhere else. Line-up: Richard Franecki - guitar, bass, electronics & sitar, John Helwig - guitar & bass and Rusty - drums. Highly recommended for fans of ST 37, F/i, Surface Of Eceyon, Subarachnoid Space, Halcyon High, Melting Euphoria and possibly Bardo Pond. As I still find time to search through the bins at any (still existing) used CD stores, I now fully understand as to why I never come across any 'used' CD's by Vokokesh - it's because all their titles are true keepers. I plan to keep this must-own CD in my current-rotation-stack for quite awhile.From; Aural-Innovations

Links; Vocokesh - Dr. Hofmann's Bicycle Ride Password (if needed); wws [Link dies 5/9/2012] Vocokesh Vocokesh @ MySpace BUY!!!

.....Skrogg

noreply@blogger.com (mr.A) — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 22:03:00 +0000

Skrogg, from NH, was born out of the need for some heavy, doomy blooze.....
Their debut EP "Raw Heat" lives up to its name with huge drums, up-front running bass lines, low tuned, fuzzed out guitar and aggressive, bluesy vocals. It's a grimy stoner rock that's all their own.  It came together quick in the Fall of 2010 with Reverend Maxfield on guitar/vocals, Jasper Gloom on the bass and Felix Starr on drums. Feeding off the sounds of 70's masters like Black Sabbath, Buffalo, Zeppelin and Pentagram and newer stuff like Graveyard, Kyuss, Electric Wizard and Fu Manchu, they pulled their sound together and within a couple of months played their first shows, Taking time in the Spring of 2011 to record. They spent the summer touring around New England opening for such acts as Sourvein, Black Anvil and Supermachine. In November 2011 they self-released their debut EP. -Jason Lawrence, manager/booking agent

☠☠☠☠

"It's just great fucking gritty hard rock tinged with doom and blues. It's fuzzy, and it's huge." Bill Goodman/The Soda Shop
From; ReverbNation

Links; Skrogg - Raw Heat Skrogg Skrogg @ MySpace BUY!!!!

...Jeff Wack...

noreply@blogger.com (mr.A) — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 22:03:00 +0000

Jeff Wack is an illustrator specializing in digital airbrush and digital photography. He has done work extensively for such clients as Coca-Cola, Anheuser-Busch, 20th Century Fox, Universal Studios, MGM Studios, Bank of America, Nokia, Activision, Microsoft, and a long list of major Fortune 500 companies. His work has appeared on Billboards, Movie Posters, CD Covers, Television, and in Print in major publications.

He also specializes in solving digital imaging challenges for clients unable to budget for complicated major photographic shoots and bringing that certain touch which goes beyond the standard genre.

He has received many major awards, from the Cleo for advertising, to trophies from the Society of Illustrators. From; Jeff Wack

Links; Jeff Wack